Seattle Storm vs. Minnesota Lynx Prediction, Preview and Odds - 8/24/21
It’s a battle of Western Conference teams on the parquet floor in the Land of 10,000 Lakes as WNBA action rules the night. The Seattle Storm are on the road as they travel to face the Minnesota Lynx Tuesday night. Seattle knocked off Washington 85-78 on the road Sunday afternoon in their most recent contest. Minnesota outgunned Chicago 101-95 on the road in their last contest Saturday night. The Storm have won the last 10 meetings between the teams entering this contest. That includes a 90-78 road win on May 20 and an 82-72 victory at home on May 28 in the two matchups so far this season.
Seattle Storm Trying to Earn Top Spot in WNBA Playoff Picture
Seattle won their second straight game as they knocked off Washington on the road Sunday afternoon. The Storm improved to 18-7 on the season and enter this one tied for the top spot in the WNBA playoff picture, percentage points behind the Aces and Sun. Seattle trailed by 12 midway through the first quarter before cutting the deficit to three at the end of one. The Storm outscored the Mystics 25-12 in the second quarter to lead by nine at the half. Seattle led by 14 with just over nine minutes to play in the contest only to see Washington rally for a 74-73 lead with 3:32 to play. The Storm closed the game on a 12-4 run to earn the victory. Seattle shot 44.6% from the field, including six of 24 from three-point range, and held Washington to 36.8% from the floor. Breanna Stewart led the Storm with 20 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
The Storm comes into this contest second in the league in scoring offense with an average of 86.5 points per game. Seattle is third in rebounding (36.8 boards per contest) and is second in the league in assists by dishing out 21.5 dimes per night this year. The Storm are 4th in scoring defense as they allow 80.1 points a game so far this year. Breanna Stewart leads the team with 20.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest. Jewell Loyd (18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists) and Sue Bird (10.7 points, 5.4 assists) are solid secondary options. Coach Noelle Quinn has a solid group to work with as her team can get production from Katie Lou Samuelson, Jordin Canada, Ezi Magbegor, Stephanie Talbot, Kennedy Burke, Epiphanny Prince and Kiana Williams. The Storm are third in the league in field goal percentage as they convert 45.1% of their shots from the floor this year. Seattle is third in the league in three-point field goals made per game (nine) and first in three-point percentage as they knock down 38.9% percent from beyond the arc. The Storm are above average at the line, ranking third in the league by converting 83% of their chances. Mikiah Herbert Harrington is out for the year as she is pregnant.
Minnesota Lynx Hoping for Second Straight Win
Minnesota snapped a two-game slide as they knocked off Chicago on the road in a high-scoring affair Saturday night. The Lynx improved to 14-9 on the season and enter this game fourth in the WNBA playoff picture, three games behind the Sun, Aces and Storm for the top spot. Against Chicago, Minnesota led by seven after the opening quarter, by four at the half and closed the third quarter with a 10-3 run to take the lead for good. The Lynx led by six after three quarters and didn’t let the Sky closer than three the rest of the way. Minnesota shot a hot 54% from the field, including five of eight from three-point range, and controlled the glass by a 33-23 margin. Layshia Clarendon finished with 18 points and five assists to lead six Minnesota players in double figures.
On the season, the Lynx are 4th in the league in scoring offense with an average of 82.7 points per game. Minnesota is 9th in rebounding as they collect 34 boards a night while the team is fourth in assists by dishing 20.9 dimes a night. The Lynx are fifth in the league in scoring defense as they give up an average of 80.3 points per contest this season. Sylvia Fowles is second on the team with 16.1 points plus 9.6 rebounds per contest. Kayla McBride (13.9 points), Crystal Dangerfield (8.1 points, 3.3 assists) and Aerial Powers (10 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists) are solid secondary scoring options. Damiris Dantas, Napheesa Collier (16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists), Jessica Shepard, Layshia Clarendon (10.7 points, 5.6 assists), Bridget Carleton, Rachael Banham, Natalie Achonwa and Linnae Harper are looked at to be contributors for coach Cheryl Reeve. Minnesota stands second in the league in field goal percentage as they shoot 46.2% from the field as a team this year. The Lynx are 8th in the league in three-pointers per game (6.9) and 6th in three-point shooting as they hit 35% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Minnesota is 4th in the league in free throw shooting as they hit 82.5% of their attempts at the charity stripe. Rennia Davis (foot) is out indefinitely at this point in time.
Pick: Seattle Storm
These are two of the top teams in the league and they are battling to try and improve their standing in the playoff picture. Seattle is part of the three-team logjam at the top of the standings and has won two straight games after losing two straight while Stewart and Bird were rested. Since that duo returned, we saw them put up 99 and 85 points in two wins. The Storm have owned the Lynx in recent years with 10 straight wins in the series dating back to 2019. Minnesota has played well this season and got Powers back in the mix Saturday, though she had her struggles. It’s hard to slow down Seattle when they are clicking as they have lately. Give the Storm the upper hand on the road as they make it 11 straight over the Lynx.
Total: Over
Seattle had strung together three straight overs coming out of the Olympic break before falling 4.5 points short in their win Sunday over the Mystics. The Storm have seen the under hit in 13 of their 25 games on the season after that contest. Minnesota blew past the total in their win over Chicago by a whopping 34.5 points to go over the mark for the third time in their four games since the Olympic break. The Lynx have seen the over go 13-10 on the season. In this series, eight of the last 10 meetings have gone over the mark and with the way these teams can score, this one seems primed to follow suit. Look for this contest to wind up over the mark at the final buzzer as the teams trade buckets all night long.
